SHOP TALK with JT Quarantine Blues

Trish | September 24, 2020 More

I pray this finds everyone healthy and safe from the global pandemic we are facing. Home quarantine had its perks during the first week, as I locked myself in my shop and never looked back. Then the reality of our business not generating ANY income right now set in and promptly removed the fun out of shop time. During that first week, though, I was able to give my Camaro “Big Red” a complete inspection and detailing. I checked every nut and bolt and went through every system with a microscopic approach to detail. This was really fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed the marathon 8-hour shop sessions. That was until I received an official notice that the prestigious indoor car show I was invited to be a feature display at, was cancelled due to Covid-19. So the car is ready to race, ready to show, ready to start earning its keep in my garage, but I have nowhere to take it. My motorcycle was next in line to get some love and attention. It got a complete service, and afterwards I spent an entire day cleaning and detailing every inch of it. I was also able to schedule bike service appointments for all of my annual customers and set up a “no contact” dropoff and pick up policy to help ensure everyone’s safety and health. I was so in need of some type of income that I even offered pick-up and delivery service to sweeten the deal a little. And for the record, it is stressful enough hauling your own bike on a landscape trailer let alone someone else’s pride and joy. I did not enjoy that process at all, but did what I had to do to get jobs in my shop. It is hard to comprehend the environment and make sense of it. A few of my buddies who have full-time shops were considered “essential” businesses and were fortunate enough to stay open. This ended up being just a legal perk, though, as customers were not using their cars or wanting to get them serviced. Their employees were also afraid to go to the shop and chose to collect unemployment instead of working.